


I'm on the Mend

by DramamineOnTopOfMe



Series: Buddie Discord Secret Santa 2019 [7]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck Had a Rough Day, Crying, Cuddling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Getting Together, I promise, M/M, bed sharing, mentions of hanging, not graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:41:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21938509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramamineOnTopOfMe/pseuds/DramamineOnTopOfMe
Summary: Buck and Eddie have a rough day at work and Eddie wants him to come home for some quality time.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Series: Buddie Discord Secret Santa 2019 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579816
Comments: 17
Kudos: 438





	I'm on the Mend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [girlsonffilm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlsonffilm/gifts).



> Secret Santa fic for [Jordan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/godhatesjordan/pseuds/godhatesjordan)

It’d been a long day and all he wanted was to curl up in bed and sleep. But then Eddie smiled at him and asked if he wanted to come over for dinner. His eyes crinkled and his lips curled into a soft smile. And dammit if Buck would ever tell him no. “Of course man, do you want me to follow you or am I riding with you?” 

“Ride with me. We both come in at the same time tomorrow. You can just stay the night.” His stomach flipped at the statement. Dinner was one thing, but staying the night? He wouldn’t be able to decompress the way he knew he should if he stayed the night. Yeah, Eddie would leave him alone on the couch if he said he was tired, but that’s not the same as taking a hot shower and curling up into a soft bed. Buck was sure he would cry tonight due to the stress of today. 

_ A woman called 911 early into his shift about her daughter being stuck in the well behind their house. When the team got there, they realized the well was flooded and the ten year old named Elizabeth was floating, her head barely above the dirty liquid around her. That one ended well enough, Elizabeth was pulled out by Bobby and sent to the ER for a general check up.  _

_ It was the second call that set the day down a dark path. Cap called everyone to the ladder truck, mumbling something about Athena already being on the scene and they were to show up as extra hands. Buck knew what this was, everyone but Eddie did. He looked around in confusion, but didn’t ask what was happening.  _

_ The ride was silent, none of the team dared to say a word. It wasn’t like any of them felt like they couldn’t, but somewhere down the line, they’d realized it was easier for everyone to stay quiet. When they arrived on the scene Bobby jumped out of the truck first, then Chim, Buck, Hen, and finally Eddie. They looked around, only to find no M.E. van in sight. Athena was waiting by the front door of the house. “I only need one of you , and it’s gotta be one of the boys, girl put herself pretty high up and I don’t want to risk bringing a ladder up there.”  _

_ Silence.  _ _  
_ _ “How old is she?”  _

_ “Fourteen. Her mom found her when she came home on her lunch. There’s a note.” Buck looked over just at Eddie just in time to see the realization hit his face. _

_ “I’ll go up with you Athena,” Buck ducked his head a little.  _

_ “Are you sure, Buck? I can go up there if you want.” Bobby offered.  _

_ “No, it’s alright. I’m the tallest one here and this isn’t the first time. I’ll be alright. Do I need the jaws or anything?” Athena shook her head.  _

_ “I’ve got a knife, that’s all we need.” Without another word, he followed her into the house and up the stairs. “She’s in her bedroom.” Athena mumbled. Then she rounded the corner and moved down the hall. There were other police officers scattered around the house, a few in the hallway, and one posted at the door to the teen’s bedroom. _

_ He took a deep breath as his eyes flitted around the room. Everything was perfectly normal, or at least what you'd expect from a teenage girl's room. She had a pile of clothes on a chair next to her bed, her laptop tipped precariously over the side of her pillow at the head of her bed. Her desk was a mess, a few textbooks stacked on top of it and her backpack on the floor. His eyes caught the letter on top of the desk, placed off to the side and not on top of anything.  _

_ Finally, Buck glanced at the body hanging from the rafters. Her ceiling was tall, about ten feet, a support beam running through the middle of the room. Buck pulls his mouth into a line, glancing at Athena for a second. "Knife?" She handed it over while stepping up behind the girl. She wrapped her arms around the waist while nodding once. That's all he needed.  _

_ Buck cut the girl free, his own arms dropping to catch her. Athena stumbled for a second, pushing the girl into Buck's arms for a second before nodding for him to put her down.  _

_ "They'll get her?"  _

_ "Medical Examiner just pulled up, they’ll take care of it. This is all I needed you to do, Buck. You can go now."  _

_ Sadness flooded his system. He wanted to help, "The mom?"  _

_ "She's downstairs talking to officers, you've done your job, Buckaroo. Time to go back to the station."  _

_ "Come on, Ath-" _

_ "Buck, go back down to the truck." Her voice was stern. She'd been through this with him before. His empathy gets the better part of him and it's hard to let go, hard to know when you've done all you can and it's not your job anymore.  _

_ He stumbled down the stairs, the beginning of a panic attack setting in. He tripped down the last few steps, the only thing that kept him from hitting the ground was a lone officer stationed next to the front door. The officer frowned at him, knowing what Buck had just seen and his eyebrow curled slightly. An understanding. Officers and firemen often worked side by side every day on horrible accidents and they shared looks of understanding and sorrow.  _

_ His eyes were downcast as he walked back to the ladder truck. Chim clapped his shoulder before jumping into the rig while Bobby gave him a worried look. Once in the back, Buck scooted a bit closer to Hen and put his head on her shoulder. Across the seats, his eyes met Eddie's and he frowned. Hen leaned over, placing a soft kiss on his forehead before putting her arm around him. "Make sure you call Athena later, I want to know how she's doing." Buck's eyes moved from Eddie to the rearview mirror to look at Bobby. He nodded. Once back at the firehouse, Buck tried his best to get himself together. The call was hard, but he'd been through worse and he could wait until he got home that night to fully process what he'd seen.  _

_ A few hours passed and he spent a lot of his time either talking with Chim and Hen, or resting on the couch downstairs. He knew he shouldn't be doing that, but Bobby told him when they'd gotten back to take a rest if he needed to.  _

_ The third call for the day came two hours before the end of Buck’s shift. The crew parked in front of the burning apartment building and jumped into action.  _

_ “I can see one or two people stranded on their balconies. WE can get them down with the ladder.” Bobby nodded at Buck, “You’re good going up there?” Buck nodded.  _

_ He climbed the ladder, puling the first woman off of her patio on the fourth floor. The woman thanked him profusely, gripping his wrist. “Do you know if anyone is in the building still?” It was a longshot, but he had to ask.  _

_ “Not on my floor, I got everyone out myself.” Buck helped her back down to the ground then, patting her on the shoulder as the paramedic ran over with a blanket and a mask. The next person was on the ninth floor, a teenage boy with his dog. "Hey man, how're you feeling?" Buck greeted.  _

_ "Little hot up here, would love to be on the ground." The boy smirked, his dog barking once.  _

_ "Don't worry man, I'll get you down to the ground. Grab my hand." They took a few steps down the ladder, "Hey do you know if anyone is stuck on your floor?" The boy only shook his head.  _

_ The final person trapped in the apartment building was on the twelfth floor. He was shaking when Buck finally got up to him. “Alright sir, I’m going to need you to grab my hand and I’ll get you out of here. Do you know if there’s anyone still inside?”  _

_ “I’m sorry son, I don’t think I can come down with you on that ladder. I’m to big.”  _

_ “This thing is built to hold 750 lbs. I promise you’ll be safe. What’s your name?”  _

_ “Roy.” _

_ “Roy, I’m Buck.”  _

_ Roy shakes his head, looking back into his burning apartment. “I don’t think there’s anyone else inside. Everyone is on holiday on my floor. I’m the only one up here.” Buck nods, a small victory for the day.  _

_ “Awesome, alright. Come here to the edge of the balcony and I’m going to help you onto the ladder.” Roy blinked once, eyebrows scrunching. “Come on, I promise if you take my hand, you’ll be fine.”  _

_ At his own words, Buck’s memory kicked in. For a moment he was brought back to that day at the fair. He just wanted to help the guy.  _

_ Roy stepped forward, taking Buck’s right hand. “You’re not going to let me fall?”  _

_ “Nah, man. I’m not going to let you fall.” Buck secured his fingers more around Roy’s wrist then pulled him. He took a step back, nearly tripping over the step behind him. “Alright, I’m going to take another step back then I want you to follow me. I want you to step on to the end of the ladder.”  _

_ “You sure it’s going to hold me?” Roy questioned again.  _

_ “I swear on my life. Come on.” He took one more step back, being sure to pull Roy with him. Roy shakily stepped onto the ladder, letting a breath out. They kept moving, Buck knew that if he stopped too long, Roy would realize how far up they are. “Alright, I’m going to turn around really fast, I want you to keep your eyes on my head okay.”  _

_ “How far up are we?”  _

_ “About eight stories, like I said, keep your eyes on me.”  _

_ Roy’s eyes widened, “No problem.” After Buck turned around, coming down the ladder was smooth sailing. Bobby had secured the building while he was retrieving people. “We good?” He asked, handing Roy off to Chim for inspection.  _

_ “We’re good kid, you did good.” A small blush covered his cheeks upon Bobby’s praise. He needed it and Bobby knew that. “Go back to the truck, Eddie should be over there.” He nodded towards the truck.  _

_ Turning around, Buck began to pull his jacket off, the weight of it mixed with the heat beginning to be a bit much. _

_ “Don’t take that off until you’re in the truck, Buckaroo.” Bobby reminded him. Buck nodded, his boots hitting the ground with loud thumps as he goes back to the truck. Eddie smiled at him as he jumped into the back seat. _

_ “Hey man, you alright?”  _

_ “Hmm? Yeah, I’m fine. What’s up?”  _

_ “It’s been a day, was just checking in with you.” A soft smile was placed on his lips. _

_ Something warm sat in his stomach at Eddie’s words. He’d forgotten momentarily about the earlier call, with the win he just had. “I’m... “ Buck bit his lip, thinking, “It’s been a long day, man. I don’t know what to say.”  _

_ His best friend nodded and left it alone.  _

Eddie clapped a hand on Buck’s shoulder, “Come on, Buckaroo, let’s go home.” 

“We picking up Christopher from Abuela’s or does Carla have him?” 

“Chris is at a friend’s house. He’s spending the night.” Buck’s brow curled in confusion.

“Oh, then why am I-” 

“It’s been a rough day, Buck. I figured you didn’t want to be alone tonight.” Eddie smiled sadly, then removed his hand to bump Buck’s shoulder lightly. They pulled out of the parking lot before Buck responded. 

“What’d Bobby tell you?” 

“He told me about the first time you went through this. You were the only one tall enough to get the guy down and you were brand new. He mentioned that you didn’t come in the next day and Chim went to check on you. He found you sitting with your head between your legs in the shower.” Eddie sighed, stopping at a light. “And I know you’ve had a few calls since then. Bobby said you haven't’ called in since the first time But I’m your best friend, man,” He pushed a hand over his buzzed head, “I want to be there for you and I don’t feel comfortable letting you go home alone tonight” 

Buck’s throat tightened at Eddie’s words. He couldn’t remember the last time someone stepped in to check on him. Yeah, Bobby, Chim, and Hen had all been there after the fact, but it’d been years since someone stepped in to help with the compartmentalization of it all. 

“Thank you,” His voice choked. Buck brought his fingers together, clasping his hands on top of his lap. The light turned green finally and Eddie pressed on the gas. 

Ten minutes later and they were at Eddie’s house. “What do you want for food? I can call or make whatever you want.” 

“I’m not that hungry. I don’t usually eat after shifts like this.” Buck said, using his key to open the front door. 

“Well I’m not letting you go the night without eating. So how’s pizza? You don’t have to eat it all, I just want you to have a piece or two.” Buck nodded, acknowledging that his friend was trying to help. 

After two hours, Buck put the other half of uneaten pizza in the fridge. He’d managed a slice and a half before feeling nauseous and handing the rest off to Eddie. 

“Alright, man, what can I do for you? What do you usually do to get through this stuff?” His hands were resting on either side of Buck’s shoulders, face soft. He couldn’t help but revel in the warmth they held. 

“Honestly?” He med Eddie’s eyes, “I generally curl up in bed and wait. Sometimes I cry and sometimes I don’t. I don’t sleep that night.” Eddie huffed at his words, “I doze? Most of the time I’m up around four to take a shower then I lay back down.” 

“Do you think taking a shower now will help you at all?” Buck shrugged, causing Eddie’s hands to fall from his shoulders. 

“I don’t know. I’m really tired, Eds, and I just want to lay down, I think.” He blinked once, frowning. 

Eddie nodded, “Alright, go get changed. I think I still have a pair of your sweats in a drawer in my room.” Eddie waved him away, grabbing a blanket to throw over the couch. “I’ll get the couch set up for you.” 

Buck moved slowly to Eddie’s bedroom. As he passed the threshold, he looked towards the bathroom.  _ Maybe a shower wouldn’t be a bad idea now?  _ “Eds, I think I’m actually going to shower, if that’s alright.” 

“That’s fine, the couch will be ready when you are done.” Eddie smiled softly from the living room. 

~~

After his shower, Buck pulled on a pair of sweats from Eddie’s drawer, probably the ones he was talking about earlier, and contemplated throwing his shirt back on for the night. Then he looked at Eddie’s closet and frowned slightly. His eyes caught one of his shirts hanging from the bar. He walked over, pulling it from the hanger before throwing it over his head. Then he walked out into the living room where Eddie was watching TV on the couch. 

“Thanks for letting me shower, Eds.” 

“Of course, do you want to watch a movie or something Or do you want to go to bed?” Eddie moved a little, making room for Buck on the couch. He took the invitation, flopping down next to his best friend. Unconsciously, Buck pressed into Eddie’s side, digging his shoulder into the back of the couch to be surrounded by Eddie’s body heat. 

“A movie is fine.” He mumbled. Eddie nodded, pulling his arm over Buck’s shoulders to lay across the back of the couch. “Just not something sad, please.” 

“How about Mrs. Doubtfire?” Buck nodded, pressing himself closer to Eddie. After Eddie put it in, he settled back further into the couch and pulled Buck closer. Silence filled the living room the opening credits coming over the TV. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked. 

“No, I don’t want to talk about it.” Buck’s shoulder tensed, and he looked down at his lap. “I don’t even think the movie is going to help. I honestly think I just need to curl up and go to sleep.” 

“You said you don’t sleep on nights like this.” 

“Yeah, but I’ll doze, maybe dream a little. Get some coffee in the morning before we leave for work and I’ll be fine.” Then he pulled away from Eddie fully. Buck stood, stretching his arms, fingertips hitting the ceiling. His best friend frowned for a second, then swung his legs across the entirety of the couch. 

“Lay down, Buck.” 

“Eds-” 

“Come on, just for a little bit. If it doesn’t work then we’ll stop but I think you need some time to curl up and decompress.” Eddie patted his chest, “Just try it, for me please.” Buck blinked once, realizing that it was worth a shot. He was tense, too tense to be comfortable. He’d never had someone around so he was used to going about this process alone. But Eddie was offering and if it didn’t work then it didn’t work. 

Buck slowly lowered himself onto the couch, His legs slotting between Eddie’s. Buck’s chest pressed down, and he folds his left hand into the corner of the couch. His right arm grips Eddie’s shirt near his shoulder, “Thanks, Eds.” 

Eddie’s fingers dance on his waist, forearms securing themselves around the small of his back and across his shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. Just close your eyes.” So he did. Buck let his head fall into the juncture between Eddie’s throat and his shoulder before taking a breath in. 

The sounds from the movie were quiet, Eddie made sure not to let the TV play too loudly. His vision blurred after a few minutes, as he focused on the sound of Eddie’s heartbeat next to his ear. It was calming, strong. He could fall asleep to it, Buck thinks. He kept focusing on it while he played with Eddie’s collar. Eddie’s fingers were still dancing on his spine, drawing circles near the small of his back. Buck sighed, moving his thumb to run across Eddie’s throat for a second. 

Then a jolt ran through him. His heart raced and his body jerked. Buck was up and standing in less than a second, hand clutching his heart. 

“Buck, what’s wrong, man? You okay?” Eddie opened his eyes blearily, blinking at the light from the screen. “We fell asleep.” 

“I think I’ve got to-” Cry, he had to cry. He knew this anxiety wouldn’t go away until he did. But despite the openness in their friendship, Buck felt weird saying that he needed to cry in front of Eddie. “I think I’ve-” 

Eddie sat up, turning off the TV. Tears filled his eyes and he looked down at the floor. “Buck?” 

“It’s gonna be one of those times.” He offered, eyes finally meeting Eddie’s. Eddie nodded, getting himself up off the couch before stepping close. 

“Do you want me to do anything, do you want me to leave you alone? What’s the protocol here, Buck?” 

“I don’t have a protocol, I’ve never had someone else with me.” He sucked air in, then let it out slowly. “Do you mind if I use your-” His hand jerked in the general direction of Eddie’s room. “The only protocol that I have is to curl up in a bed and I can’t really do that on the couch. I’m sorry man, I-” Guilt hit him. He shouldn’t have done that , shouldn’t have basically told Eddie that he needed to use the bed to have his mini meltdown. 

“Alright, let’s go.” Eddie nodded. 

“What?” He took a breath. 

“Let’s go. You can curl up in my bed and I’ll lay there with you but if you’re uncomfortable and you want me to sleep on the couch, I will.” He stuck his hand out for Buck to take. And after only a second of hesitation, Buck did. They padded down the hallway to the bedroom, Eddie squeezing his hand twice once they entered. Then he closed the door and dropped hand from Buck’s. He walked to the left side of the bed and pulled back the covers before looking at Buck expectantly, “Get in.” 

Without waiting for a response, Eddie jumped over the left side to land on the right side of the bed, peeling his shirt off. Buck stared for a second, watched his best friend strip and get comfy on his side of the bed. “Come on, man, lay down with me.” He patted the left side of the bed again. 

Buck finally moved, laying down against the sheets for only a fraction of a second before curling his legs up against his chest and attempting to pull the blanket up over his head. “Now, hey, come here.” Eddie’s large hand gripped his shoulder, pulling him closer. “Just close your eyes, it’s going to be fine, Buck.” Buck let himself be moved, inevitably curling into the warmth of Eddie’s side. Buck wrapped his arm around Eddie’s torso before closing his eyes. 

The sadness hit him again and he didn’t try to collect himself this time. A tear ran down his cheek as he pressed close to Eddie, the tear hitting his chest. His best friend wrapped his arms a little tighter around him. “I’ve got you, Buck. Don’t worry.” 

“Nobody had her.” He mumbled, tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. “Nobody was there for her, Eddie. She was fourteen.” Eddie gasped. 

He didn’t know why, but he felt like he needed to talk about it, so he continued, “Her mom was in the kitchen downstairs. You know they aren’t supposed to call us, right? Generally when this stuff happens the firefighters don’t get called. It’s only when the M.E. is going to be late that they call for one of us to get the body down.” His voice choked, the tears finally spilled over. He sobbed. 

“Shh, you’re alright.” 

“I just- why did she have to-” Another sob ripped from his throat, “It’s not fair, Eds. It’s not fucking fair.” 

“I know, man, I know.” Eddie ran a hand over Buck’s hair, pulling him on top of his chest. He didn’t say anything else, and neither did Buck. They laid like that for a while, Buck sobbing and hiccuping. At some point he stopped, shallow breaths leaving his lungs while stray tears still escaped his eyes. Eddie’s grip never faltered, his fingers never leaving Buck’s hair. Buck dug his face further into Eddie’s neck, brushing his hand absentmindedly along his ribs. “Do you need anything from me? Do you want me to go or are you alright with me staying here?” 

“Don’t go,” He mumbled. Buck inhaled, digging his nose into the crook of Eddie’s neck, “Please.” He wanted the comfort, he wanted Eddie. “This is- I want you to stay.” He mumbled again. 

“Alright, querido, I’ll stay.” Eddie leaned his head against Buck’s. “Rest alright, you’ve got to rest. Morning is in a few hours.” Buck sagged a little bit deeper into Eddie and the bed. Now that he’d cried everything out, he was expecting to stay up and let his mind wander like it always had on nights like this. But surrounded by warmth and the smell of Eddie, sleep claimed him nearly instantly. 

~~

He wasn’t expecting to still be wrapped up in Eddie when he woke up the next morning. He’d expected for his best friend to pull away at some point last night, hell, even this morning. Not that he was complaining about still being pressed into Eddie’s neck with the other man’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist, but he wasn’t expecting it. 

Buck pulled his face up, eyes flitting across the sleeping face in front of him. Eddie’s forehead was smooth, no wrinkles to crows feet in sight. Eyes still closed, he moved down to Eddie’s lips. They were full, kissable even. He’d thought about it before, with the amount of flirting they threw at each other. He had never acted on it, never thought about acting on it. But laying here like this, in such a vulnerable position. The want to press his lips to his best friend’s came over him in droves. 

“Like what you see, Buckaroo?” Eddie cracked an eye open. Startled, Buck began to move away, but Eddie kept him close with the arm he had around his waist. “Hey, don’t worry. It’s fine. How’re you feeling?” 

“I’m okay.” He mumbled, eyes still fixated on Eddie’s lips. 

“You slept last night. Were out almost as soon as I stopped talking to you.” He smiled, fingers trailing down Buck’s ribs. He shivered, pushing himself closer to Eddie’s body and away from his fingers. 

“Your fingers are cold.” He huffed, “I guess I did fall asleep. I don’t know, I guess laying here with you made me sleepy.” 

“I know.” Eddie chuckled, his fingers still dancing on Buck’s side. 

“You know?” 

“Human contact does wonders for anxiety and stress, grieving, especially. When you told me that you don’t sleep at night after days like that, I figured I’d do my best to get you to sleep.” Eddie sighed, eyes leaving Buck’s face to look at the ceiling. “When I was in the Army, one of the guys I spent my days with had some really bad panic attacks. I wanted to help him and he told me that human contact is one of the best ways to overcome anxiety. Something about the body’s response to human touch and warmth. There’s safety in other people, it’s part of our nature. And I know that some people don’t like to be touched, but you and I have always been close.” His voice quieted, fingers stopped moving too. Then he pushed Buck away and threw his legs over the side of the bed. “I’m going to go get breakfast made, we’ve got about an hour until we’ve got to leave. Take all the time you need.” 

Eddie’s change didn’t go unnoticed by Buck, and he couldn’t place what had changed in those few sentences for Eddie to leave the room, leave the bed, as quickly as he did. Buck stayed for a minute, rolling over into the spot that was still warm from Eddie’s body. It smelled like him, everything did. He inhaled, calm again. 

It only took a few minutes of laying in the bed alone for Buck to decide he should go help with breakfast. He padded out to the kitchen, stopping in the doorway when he saw Eddie humming a tune and dancing around the kitchen in just some sweats. The song was Dancing Queen, something he’d heard Eddie sing to Christopher once or twice on their days off. 

A smile formed on his lips as he watched. Eddie cracked eggs into a bowl, then scrambled them with a fork. Buck took a few quiet steps into the kitchen, being sure not to spook the other man. Once he got to the opposite side of the island, his smile broadened. Eddie was shaking his hips to the imaginary music. Eddie turned then, pouring the eggs onto the pan sitting on the stove. 

Their eyes met for a second and Buck watched as a blush flooded Eddie’s entire face. His neck colored a rosy pink along with his ears, cheeks bright red, like they’d been slapped. “Jesus Christ, you’re pretty.” The words left his mouth and a blush of his own dusted his cheeks. “Eds,” He huffed. “Is something wrong?” 

“Why would something be wrong?” Eddie smiled at him as he put the bowl down on the counter. 

“You just-” Buck stepped around the island, brushing shoulders with Eddie, “You ran away pretty fast from the bedroom. If I made you-” 

“Hey, shh, shh.” Edde’s right hand pressed into Buck’s neck. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I just didn’t want to do something stupid.” 

“What kind of stupid?” His eyebrows furrowed. Eddie wasn’t the one that stared at his lips like he wanted to devour them this morning, Buck was. 

“Just stupid. I don’t want to do anything that can mess with our friendship, man.” Buck frowned. Eddie didn’t want to do anything to risk the friendship, like kiss him. God, Buck was an idiot.

“I don’t think you could mess up our friendship, Eds.” Buck recovered, his hands moving to grip Eddie’s waist. He stared for a second, eyes taking in his friend’s soft morning appearance. “Thank you for last night. I know it’s a bit weird to have me hanging off of you but it really helped me.” 

“You don’t have to thank me, Buck. I wanted to help you, practically forced you into my house.” Eddie’s eyelashes fluttered as he met Buck’s gaze.  _ God, he was pretty.  _ He couldn’t help but lean forward a bit, pressing his lips to the space between Eddie’s eyebrows. 

Eddie sighed against him. Then Buck pulled away, closing his eyes to escape whatever look Eddie was giving him. “My morning would have been shit without you, man.” 

“Buck…” Eddie’s voice was barely a whisper. Buck hadn’t opened his eyes yet, still scared at what was waiting for him. “Look at me, querido.” He opened his eyes slowly, pupils flitting along Eddie’s jaw, nose, lips, before finally setting on his eyes. “What are we-” 

The sound of his phone going off cut Eddie off. Eddie glared at the ground for a second before pulling his phone from his sweats and answering it. 

“What’s up, Cap?” Buck watched him squeeze his eyes shut for a second. “No, he’s right here. I can just ask him.” Eddie pulled the phone away from his face a little, “Cap says that some third shift guys want to make up hours and we can opt out of coming in today. You good with that?” He nodded, squeezing Eddie’s waist once softly. “Yeah, Buck and I aren’t coming in today. His car is there though, you’ll probably see us a bit later. Thanks for calling, Bobby. Have a nice day.” 

“Bye Bobby.” Buck smiled. He could hear a goodbye feintly from the other side of the phone before Eddie hung up. He put his phone back on the counter then wrapped his arms around Buck’s neck, smiling. 

Eddie’s eyes roamed his face, Buck could see him moving back and forth, up and down, taking in his features. “What’s up, Eds?” Buck bit his lip. He watched Eddie track it, biting his own in response. 

“I’m gonna do something stupid, okay?” He didn’t wait for a response. Suddenly, there was pressure on his lips and his eyes fell shut. He responded after a second, squeezing Eddie’s waist one more time, for good measure. 

He sighed into it, chasing Eddie’s lips once he began to pull away. Buck stepped forward, backing Eddie into the counter before biting his lip slightly. Eddie gripped his jaw, a huff escaping his mouth. 

Buck pulled away and opened his eyes, admiring the look of post-kiss haze on Eddie’s face. His eyes stayed closed, lips parted slightly. The sight was so nice that Buck leaned forward once more to press a chaste kiss on his bottom lip. 

“I don’t think you can do stupid things, Eddie.” Eddie’s eyes opened, and a look of adornment crossed his face. His lips curled into a pursed smile. But his eyes shined in the morning light. “I should have kissed you this morning in bed.” Buck mumbled. 

“I hoped you would, the way you were looking at me, Buck.” Eddie’s eyelashes fluttered. 

“I thought you were still asleep, to be fair.” 

“I’m glad I wasn’t.” Eddie leaned in. 

“Me too.”


End file.
